Up in the Sky
by SangatsuRose
Summary: Sakura doesn't understand why one day, her mother went to live up in the sky.


_Hi, everyone! Welcome to my first Cardcaptor Sakura fanfic! I read the transcript for one of the CCS drama CDs, "Sakura and her Mother's Organ." In it, Sakura is able to dream about the song her mother would play on the organ, despite being only a toddler when she heard it. Touya mentions that as a child, Sakura would ask him, "Where is mom?" and then began to cry, so this is what it's based off of! Enjoy!_

* * *

"Brother?"

The feeling of Sakura's tiny hand tugging at the hem of his shirt caused Touya to stop playing mid-song. Without saying a word, he looked down his sister, who was staring at him with wide emerald eyes.

"What is it?" He questioned.

"Where is mom?"

Touya froze, and suddenly found himself unable to reach the toddler's. She had come into their father's bedroom to listen to him play the organ, as she had recognized the song. It was the one that their mother used to play for them some nights. Nadeshiko had spent hours a week teaching the melody to her son, but passed on before he could get the ending quite right.

It had been a month now, since she had passed, her family trying their best to get on without her. Life had continued. Fujitaka had returned to work, Touya continued with school, and Sakura had begun preschool.

Tiny little three-year-old Sakura, who couldn't fully comprehend what had happened to her mother.

—

_After Nadeshiko had been hospitalized, the family would spend hours a day at the hospital visiting her. Fujitaka would often bring her a nice meal, Touya would show her some of his school projects, and Sakura would bring a stuffed animal, hoping it would comfort her mother as it always did her. In the beginning of the many hospital visits, Sakura would become hysterical when they left each night, crying and crying for her mother and not understanding why she couldn't come home with them._

"_Mom is sick," Fujitaka had explained to his small daughter. "She must stay at the hospital where she can get medicine and feel better, and then we won't have to keep coming here every day to visit her, because she'll be home with us."_

"_Does she have a cold?" Sakura would ask._

"_Sort of. Think of it as a really, really bad cold that only the doctors can make go away."_

_This explanation seemed to satisfy Sakura, and she eventually became used to saying goodbye to her at the end of every day. So, on that day, when the family left the hospital for the final time, Sakura had thought nothing of it. "Bye-bye, mom," she said with a wave. The drive home was unbearable for Fujitaka and Touya, who were grateful that Sakura had fallen asleep in the car and they didn't have to worry about upsetting or scaring her with their tears. Fujitaka wanted to be able to calmly explain what happened in a way she'd understand._

_When they arrived home, the house seemed eerily quiet. Although it had been months since Nadeshiko had been there, it was today that they really began to feel her absence. Sakura stirred a bit in her father's arms, and Fujitaka looked down at his son. "We need to tell her." Touya nodded._

_Fujitaka sat her down on the couch, shaking her gently. It took a few moments, but Sakura's eyes slowly blinked open, and she yawned. "Dad, I'm hungry," she said. He smiled gently at her, brushing down some of her messy hair. "I'll make you something to eat soon. But first, I have to talk to you." He kneeled down so that he was at eye level with her. "Sakura," he said. "Mom isn't going to be coming home from the hospital."_

_Sakura tilted her head to the side, her eyes wide. "Why?" Her voice was filled with worry._

_Her father struggled to find the right words. "Well, you know how I said she was sick, right?"_

_She nodded._

"_The thing is, Sakura, sometimes people don't get better after being sick." His voice cracked, and he took a deep breath, trying to compose himself. "And mom was one of those people who didn't get better."_

_His little daughter's lip began to quiver, and she clutched tightly at her overalls, still not sure what her father was hinting at._

_And before Fujitaka knew it, Touya, scrubbing at his eyes with his sleeve, had spoken up. "Mom went to the sky," he said. _

"_The sky…?"_

_Touya nodded. "The doctors couldn't help her get better, so she had to go up to the sky to get better. It's a really beautiful place where she's at, and she isn't sick anymore," his voice trailed off and he stared down at his lap, swallowing back the lump in his throat. Fujitaka placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, giving him a light squeeze._

_Sakura took a few moments to process what her brother had told her, and suddenly jumped up from the couch, her tiny legs trotting over to the large window, and she pressed her hands and face against the glass, staring up at the twilight sky. "I don't see her." Fujitaka approached her from behind, picking her up and giving her a tight hug. "She's really high up in the sky," he said. "We can't see her from down here."_

—

"Brother?"

His sister's voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he looked down to see tears streaming down her chubby face. "Why are you crying?" He asked, placing a hand on her head.

"Where is mom?" She asked again.

Touya pursed his lips, and let out a sigh. "I told you already, she went to go live in the sky."

"But why does she have to live there now?" Sakura choked out. "I want her to live with us."

The ten year old mustered up all his strength to swallow back his own tears, not wanting to upset his sister further. With a slight smile, he picked her up and set her down on the bench with him. "Like I said, the doctors couldn't help her get better, so she went to the sky. But once you go up to the sky, you can't come back again. But where she is now is beautiful, and she is very happy there. She'll never be sick or hurt again."

"Oh…," Sakura said through sniffles. "Does she miss us?"

Touya nodded, patting her head gently. "She does miss us. But, she can still see us from where she is, and she will always look after us. I think it would make her really sad to see you crying right now. She wants you to smile."

Sakura gasped, and her eyes widened further. Although she still didn't completely understand, she didn't want to make her mother upset, so she shook her head, and looked up at her brother with her bright, beautiful smile. "I will smile for mom, then! I don't want to make her sad!"

Just then, the siblings heard the voice of their father from downstairs, telling them that dinner was ready. "Coming!" Sakura yelled back as she scrambled off of the bench and headed to the door. "Come on, brother!" She said to him. "I'll be down in a minute," he said. When she left, he turned his attention to the corner of the room where his mother was, and had been the whole time.

"You did good, Touya. I know it must've been hard to answer her questions."

"I didn't know how else to explain it to her," he said. "I just hope she understands."

"She will, in time. Once she does, I'm sure it'll be that much harder on her, but I hope that she can continue to smile and be cheerful, no matter what." A soft smile crossed Nadeshiko's face.

"She usually is."

"You know...," Nadeshiko mused. "She's going to have run into a lot of trouble when she's a bit older. It's going to be dangerous for her, so be sure to look after her, okay?"

Touya's brows furrowed and he stepped closer to Nadeshiko. "What kind of rouble?"

His mother smiled sweetly at him, closing her eyes. "You can sense it too, right? Her power? Although, it's small right now...it's going to grow immensely as she grows up."

"Mm…" Touya nodded in agreement. "I can sense it. I was able to feel it the day she was born."

"So did I." Nadeshiko moved closer to her son, cupping his cheeks in her hands. "You're a good big brother. I love you, Touya." He could feel the slight graze of her lips on his cheek, and then suddenly, she was gone.

"Touya!" Fujitaka called. "Dinner is ready!"

"Coming!" He yelled back. As he made his way to the door and turned the lights out, he turned back to the piano and smiled softly. "I love you too, mom."


End file.
